Red Sox Could Make Playoff Return With This AL East Change

The Boston Red Sox outlined a clear vision in September at their end of season press conference: Win the American League East in 2025.

Alex Cora, Craig Breslow and Sam Kennedy made that abundantly clear less than 24 hours after Boston’s 2024 season came to an end at Fenway Park. The Red Sox are three years into a playoff drought and chasing a wild-card berth simply won’t do for the front office. Earning a division title and a postseason bye is the current expectation the ballclub hopes to set.

You can argue that such an expectation may be far-fetched, given Boston’s three consecutive playoff misses and general struggles, which have put the team in a difficult spot in arguably the toughest division in the sport.

You can also take the viewpoint that Boston’s maturation process hit an opportunistic window with core players emerging at the MLB level, elite prospects on the doorstep of their debut and impact moves to the starting rotation in Garrett Crochet and Walker Buehler have the Red Sox back in the mix.

Obviously, this is why they play the games and the talent on the Red Sox roster is only as good as what’s on paper in this current moment. When the season does roll around with games to play, Boston can point to one area that could decide their fate in another year: their record within the AL East.

Boston went just 26-50 in 2022, 24-28 in 2023 and 25-27 in 2024 against the division over the last three years, respectively. The Red Sox are talented enough to win, but lackluster performance against the AL East, no matter how tough that task can be, will only extend the frustrating playoff absence further.

If Boston can even get back over the .500 mark in this area, October baseball can be back on the table at Fenway Park. The Yankees made the World Series and followed that run with complimentary additions to make them the favorites in the division again. Outside of them, the Red Sox should play with confidence that they can leap their competition.

Yes, the Baltimore Orioles are an established contender with quality big-leaguers and an endless stream of prospect talent. With that said, the Orioles do not have a single playoff win to show for it over the last two seasons. The Toronto Blue Jays have plenty of self-reflection to do on if they can still win with the current core and the Tampa Bay Rays face adversity beyond their roster.

The Red Sox enter 2025 in a perfect scenario of, ‘To be the man, you’ve got to beat the man.'”

Boston is talented enough to fight for the division title. If not, they’re one more move away. But to realize the goals of its leaders, the Red Sox have to back up those words against their fellow contenders.